Author's Revised Chatter: Hey everyone ^^; Trying to fix the fourth chappy!Okay,there are two things that I wanna say to people who were lucky enough to start reading this in time for this better version: Number One – You may notice that I added some things to the Sowing Festival activities.Meh.I was hoping it would make things more interesting ^.^;; Number Two: I also estimated how much one of Flower Bud Village's gold coins would be worth in normal currency,and its just an estimate,but I think it's pretty goddamn accurate O.o Woo.Anyway,READ!0.0
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Tuesday,Spring 7th
Dear Diary,
Believe it or not,things are going okay here.Well,maybe okay is overstating things,but at least I'm making some money...A whole crop of turnips was ready for harvesting when I woke up today!Cha-ching!
Anyway,sorry I havent updated since Friday,but I've been so freaking BUSY!Chop this,forage that,it never ends!Ugh...Well,at least there's a holiday tommorow,that might be interesting.
MIGHT...
Im sighing now,diary.
~Rose
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(Later that morning...)
"Argh...This thing is heavyyy..."
Rose hoists the large blue watering can up out of the tiny pool outside the empty barn (Which actually would make quite a good well,if she ever got around to building one over it),knuckles turning white as she carries it across the farm.
When she finally reaches the sprouting crops at the other end of the field,she is on the verge of collapse,and it shows.Her cheeks are flushed,her flaming red hair is damp with sweat,and her eyes are half-closed and slightly twitchy.
"Oh...my...god..." She says,panting and lifting the watering can a couple inches above the first plant, "It...is...so...freaking...hot..."
Rose gets down on her knees,and finds that without the unpleasant task of trying to keep her legs from buckling and turning to jelly,it really isn't nearly as overwhelmingly heinous!...Though still,it REALLY isn't something the average 17-year-old city girl would go through without swearing several times,which is exactly what Rose does as she waddles around on her folded-up legs,watering the crops,plant by plant.
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When Rose finally finishes a good fifteen minutes later ((Note: That be a long time for two crops x.X;)),she slowly gets to her feet,glaring murderously at the watering can. "I hate you..." Seconds later she is inside her shack --Er,house-- in which she hastily flings open the unlocked basket-weave tool chest,and promptly dumps the half-empty can roughly down,next to the axe.She smirks contently,watching it land shakily with a dull thud.
Rose then closes the chest's cover once again,and changes out of her dirty clothes,putting on a fresh,light blue tanktop and a pair of faded blue jeans.She looks around her tiny home,a critical look on her face.
Another sigh.
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Rose steps outside of the house about an hour later,looking much better than before. After reading a couple of old magazines and checking her email on her laptop,she had taken a quick nap,which had done wonders,really. She pushes a stray tress of hair back behind her ear,tugging at the sky-blue headband that she had put on before going out ((She had also put on a pair of purple-lensed sunglasses,since is was so...well...sunny O.o;)). She looks up at the sky and wipes a hand over her forehead. "Damn,I'm starving!.."
She walks toward the farm exit,wondering if the bakery has any cheesecake for sale that day,when she suddenly bumps into Popuri as she walks through the open gates.
"Oh,geez,sorry." Rose says as the pink-haired girl runs a hand through the skirt of her usual dress.
(Jesus,does she have any other clothing!?) Rose thinks,an apologetic smile plastered across her face.Popuri looks up at her and gives a quick curtsy. "Oh,that's alright,Rose.Erm,I just came to tell you about the Sowing Festival.It's tommorow,if you didn't know."
"Oh.Yeah,I knew about that.I bought a calendar a few days ago."Rose replies,swinging her thumb over her shoulder and pointing in the general direction of her house.
Popuri pulls at her hairthing a moment,smiling timidly."Ah,I see.Well,I should still tell you what the festival's about,at least." She begins to twirl a lock of her cherry blossom hair,and starts to explain.
"The Sowing Festival takes place in the Town Square.What happens is,the town sets up this huge hot air balloon,and the current King of Festivals--Er,I'll tell you about that some other time--Anyway,the King picks one other person from the crowd to go up in the balloon with him,and they bring a huge bundle of seeds up with them,which they scatter all over the place,and that's why it's called the Sowing Festival." Rose nods,and Popuri's smile broadens. She clears her throat and continues. "The other people at the festival help too,by getting a balloon from my mom--A normal balloon,not one for riding--and every balloon has a different kind of seed placed inside it.So after the King and the person he chose are out of sight,we let go of the balloons.Then there's usually some snacks,and maybe a little dancing,and sometimes my mom sells some rare seeds,if my dad could find any to send to us...But only vegetable seeds!Flowers come on the 23rd."
She finishes with another curtsy,then says: "Erm,I have to go run some errands at the Green Ranch now,so I'll see you at the festival,Rose!" And before Rose has a chance to say anything,Popuri is off,quickly dissapearing into the store run by Ann's father.
(How did these people learn how to walk so friggin fast...?)
Rose then remembers her previous thoughts of going to the bakery,and starts walking towards town.
(I should probably pick up some more turnip seeds too--)
"Goddamn idiot parents!..."
Rose turns her head in the direction of the voice.Walking down a sloping pathway to her right is a young girl,about her age. She has long,straight light brown hair with two light blonde highlights sticking out in front,and her slightly tanned cheeks are flushed with anger.She comes to the end of the pathway,muttering darkly,but not loudly enough for Rose to make out the words.It's only when the girl turns to face Rose that she finally notices her.
"Oh,hi." She says,her face unreadable. "You're the new girl,right?" She walks over to Rose,and her expression quickly changes from surprise,to extreme interest. "Woah,are you from the city?!"
Rose blinks. "Um,Yeah.I'm Rose."
The girl grins brightly,and Rose gets the sense that it's not something she does very often. "My name's Karen.I just love your outfit!" She holds out her hand and Rose automatically shakes it ((She'd been doing it whenever she met a new townsperson,after all ^^;;)). "The headband is a cute accessory,too.Really goes with that tanktop."
At first Rose is too shocked to say anything,but she quickly recovers after a couple of seconds. "T-thanks!!" She says,beaming.This is the first time she'd heard anybody talk about clothes since she had gotten onto that stupid ferry,and GOD how she had missed it. On instinct,Rose looks down to see what Karen is wearing,and is incredibly surprised to see how...modern(!)...The clothing is: A white tanktop,a purple blouse,and,low and behold,short blue jeans ((O_O!!!)).
Rose's eyes bulge. "Wow...that's the first time I've seen anyone wearing jeans since I got here..."
Karen sighs, "Yeah,these people have absolutely NO fashion sense!" She says in a frustrated tone of voice.
Rose rolls her eyes theatrically, "I -KNOW-!"
The two snicker happily and continue chatting.
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After a bit more talking,Rose had asked Karen if she wanted to join her at the bakery for lunch.Karen enthusiastically accepted,and now they make their way across town.
"Hey Rose?" Karen says,curious green eyes fixed on the redhead walking beside her.
"Yeah?" Rose responds,looking up at a passing bird.Her sunglasses slip a little,but she quickly fixes this.
"Did you bring any...catalogs with you?"
Rose looks at Karen,and nearly has to bite back laughter at the sight of her. Her emerald eyes are wide and dewy,and the most hopeful smile Rose has ever seen in her entire life is played across her face.A perfect Bambi imitation. "Y-yeah,why?" She says between fits of quiet giggling. A look of pure rapture envelops Karen's face.
"THANK GOD!!I thought I was gonna have to wait until my next BIRTHDAY for another chance to shop!" She says,grinning feverishly.Rose gapes at her.
"Wait a minute,you're saying you have to wait a YEAR to buy new clothes?!Why?!"
Karen sighs dramatically, "My parents don't want me spending all my paychecks on clothes...Even though I don't even buy anything else." She says the last three words in an incredibly edgy tone of voice,and Rose looks enraged.
"That's terrible!So they just make you wear the same outfits the entire year?!"
Karen shakes her head,twitching slightly. "No,my mom sows me dozens of outfits.But see,they're all so frilly and formal and shit!And she never makes me normal clothes no matter how many times I ask her!I can't stand it.I mean,sure,sometimes I try one on when I'm in a good mood or whatever,but whenever I leave my room in it all I get is my parents' embarrassing jokes.They're so stupid!!" Karen looks incredibly irritated,and Rose appears to be on the verge of tears with empathy.
"That totally sucks!! Of course you can use my catalogs!" She exclaims,and Karen lets out a relieved sigh.
"Oh my god,thank you soooo much!!" She yells,clapping her hands together and feigning awe in mock prayer. The two girls laugh quietly until they reach the bakery door a few moments later.
They walk up to the counter,and Karen looks around impatiently.
"Jeff?You there?" She calls.
"Uh,coming!" Replies a nervous male voice,and soon a skinny,youngish man with a mustache and slightly thinning black hair,looking around 35 or so,runs up to the counter.The afore-mentioned mustache twitches slightly,and Rose is distinctly reminded of rabbits as this man,apperantly 'Jeff',coughs lightly and fiddles with his bow tie,then stammers the question: "W-what can I getcha,l-ladies?"
Karen orders a plate of sugar cookies,and Rose a slice of strawberry cheesecake.The two sit down at one of the bakery's small tables,and promptly begin eating their meals.
"The food here's really good,doncha think?" Rose asks through a mouthful of cake.
Karen swallows half a cookie,nodding. "Yeah,way better than the crap they used to serve at the bar when it was part restaurant."
Rose blinks at her,arching an eyebrow slightly. "The bar used to be a restaurant?"
"Yeah." Karen replies between bites of cookie,shrugging. "The food sucked,though,and they almost shut down,'cept the Mayor told 'em not to because the town needed a bar,and they had good drinks.S'no big thing,happened a couple years ago."
"Uh-huh..." Rose replies,shrugging and changing the subject without another thought.
A few minutes later they finish their food and talk a while longer,then get up and leave,heading out of town (With a quick stop at the florist for a bag of turnip seeds,of course).Karen watches with interest as Rose quickly forages some things at Moon Mountain,then runs back to her farm and tosses them into the bin,frantically planting the turnip seeds a moment later and watering them in record time.Panting,Rose starts toward her home,but Karen quickly walks over and grabs her arm,pointing towards the beach.
"Lets go to the dock,first.We can still catch the sunset if we hurry."
Rose blinks in surprise."Uhm,alright,I guess..."
The two make their way down the steep stone pathway,taking off their shoes so they don't get dirty.Rose takes a step onto the beach,grinning as the warm sand covers her bare feet.Karen is used to this,however,so she takes no time to revel in the pleasant feel of it.
"Come on!" She yells to Rose as she runs towards the water,gesturing to the dock with her arm. "The sun's starting to go down!"
Rose quickly catches up to Karen,and they sit down at the edge of the dock. Karen lets her feet dangle about 4 inches above the water,but Rose folds her legs up tight against her,arms encircling them.
Karen notices this and laughs."Don't worry,the only things down there are fish.They can't do any harm."
Rose hesitates,but ends up letting her feet dangle as well,smiling up at the fiery clouds.
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Rose wakes up the next morning,and,for a moment,has absolutely no idea why there are magazines strewn out all over her room.
"What the--" She then remembers the events from the night before.After she had watched the sunset with Karen,they had gone back to Rose's farm to look through the catalogs she had brought with her from the city.It wasn't until around midnight that Karen had decided to head home.
Rose sits up and starts flipping through the magazines,grinning sleepily at the items Karen had circled with a purple marker,which was almost all of them...
((Flashback time ^.^ From now on,flashbacks are normal writing,'cept in italics.Ain't that spiffy o.o Plus theyre separated with the pretty star thingies @.@))
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Karen and Rose giggled quietly as they sat on Rose's bed,and leaned over two different catalogs.They had already gone through a bunch of other ones,and Rose was growing suspicious as to how Karen was planning to pay for all the items she had circled.She asked this now,her head propped up in her hands.
Karen laughed and circled another thing. "I know how to convert gold to a bunch of other currencies." She said,grinning proudly."Did you know that one gold coin translates to over FIFTY American dollars!? I can buy –ten- outfits with only –ten- coins!!It's so awesome!!And yen,ooooh,don't even get me started on yen..."
Rose stared dumbstruck at her friend as she watched her circle more items. "R-really?!That's AMAZING!!" She hadn't really thought about the fact that the coins she had such a large amount of were made of such a rare metal,so when Karen had mentoned it she had been,quite frankly,in awe.
Karen giggled cheerfully as she circled a particularly nice shirt,and doodled a little crown mark above it. "Yup!"
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Rose looks over at the clock,and her eyes nearly pop out of her head.
"Shit!9:00!I'm gonna be late!!"
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25 minutes later,Rose looks herself over in her full-length mirror (which she had insisted her parents let her bring when she had packed).She is dressed in a peach-colored,short-sleeved blouse with largish,filmy yellow roses printed all over it (and small gold-colored buttons),and a tight,businessy white skirt that goes down to her knees,where it flares out and ruffles a bit for decoration.She frowns down at her pale yellow high-heels,wishing she had something that went a tad better.She also notes that the lipstick shade might be a little off as well,or perhaps the ponytail she did her hair in would look better as a braid...She sighs dejectedly.
(Oh well,I don't have time to be picky!) She thinks,and in an instant is out the door,walking quickly past the already-watered crops,and all but jogging through the farm gates,grabbing a nearby tree to keep from tripping on her heels.
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Rose stumbles quickly through town, praying that she wont trip before she reaches the stone stairway that seems just ever so far away at the moment.However,she arrives at her destination rather quickly,still fifteen minutes before the festival even begins.Rose lets out a huge sigh of relief,and sits down on the bottom step,catching her breath and waiting for the mayor to finish setting up the balloon stand with Lillia and Popuri.A few minutes later the mayor calls her over to help arrange the wheel-legged tables ((A/N: Y'know,the long tables with little tiny wheels on the table legs?^.^; )) that would soon be covered with all sorts of yummy foods.Rose walks over to them and Popuri gasps.
"Wow,Rose,you look GREAT!" She says,walking over to her and patting her on the shoulder.She herself is dressed in a creamy,pale blue jumper,with a white blouse underneath.Her wavy pink hair is done up in two cute ponytails,and a shiny white ribbon is tied around her waist,forming a bow in back.
Rose blinks at her,giving a slight smile. "Er,thanks...You look nice too."
They chatter a bit longer,Popuri good-naturedly,Rose a tad awkwardly but cheerily all the same.By the time the small group of 'workers' finish setting everything up it's still only 10:15,and the only people who had arrived on time besides Rose were the Mayor,Lillia,Popuri,Harris (Mailman) and Zack.The square begins to fill up quickly after a couple more minutes of waiting,however,and soon it seems as though everyone who had planned on coming to the festival at all had already arrived,so the Mayor clears his throat,puffing his chest slightly and making quite an effort to look very,very important. Rose holds back a laugh.
"Ladies and Gentleman," He drawls snootily,and Rose notices Ann and Popuri breaking down in a fit of quiet giggling nearby. She then looks back to the mayor,who apparently chose to ignore this. "Welcome to the annual sowing festival,a holiday that has been around for many a year.I hope you will enjoy yourselves. Especially all you young people there!" He chortles,and several of the 'young people' snicker a tiny bit through large,fake smiles.
The mayor clears his throat again and continues, "And now,the main event!...Will the current king please step forwa--"
"HEY!WAIIIT!!!"
Rose jumps at the shouting of the familiar voice and turns to see Karen and three other people running up the stairs,stopping for breath when they get to the top.
"Sorry,Mayor." Says one of the people behind Karen,a large,bearded man in a damp white T-shirt and jeans. "There was an emergency at the vineyard." His baratone voice is gruff and unsophisticated,and his eyes are dark and slightly beady.An involuntary shiver runs down Rose's spine.
"Not to mention Miss Karen refused to wear the dress I made for this occasion..." Quietly adds another of the three,and 'Miss Karen' glares venemously at her.She is a thin,strict-looking woman,her dirty blonde hair up in a tight bun,her emerald green eyes dull and melancholy.
((That must be Karen's mom...And...Geez,is that huge wierdo her dad!?)) Rose thinks,arching an eyebrow at the odd-looking couple,then turning to look at the last person in the group.He is much younger than the parents,in fact,he looks to be about the same age as Karen and herself,with dark,tanned skin and odd purple eyes.His hair is hidden under a fuchsia bandana,and he seems to be wearing some sort of strange uniform.He says nothing,just smiles timidly at the crowd.Rose catches Karen's eye and they smile at each other,waving a little.
The mayor blinks at the four newcomers,then assumes a rather miffed air. He gives a quiet 'harumph',then speaks to them in an extra-snobby tone of voice."Yes,well,please try to come on time next year..." He straightens his tiny pair of glasses,and strikes a dramatic little pose.
"Now then,will the current king please step forward!!"
A smiling old man walks up towards the mayor,and Rose recognizes him as the potions brewer she had met on her first day at the beach.She watches as he stops in front of the hot air balloon,and turns to face the crowd,waving vaguely.
"Now then,Barley..." The mayor says,still trying hard to sound snooty,though not quite as hard as a moment ago,((That's the Potion Brewer's name in Back to Nature (PSX HM game),so I think I'll call him that here too X.x;! )) "Please choose somebody from the crowd to ride in the balloon with you.
Barley looks around,and soon his gaze rests upon his two grandsons,Kent and Stu.
((A/N: Sorry,I forgot which of the two he took up with him and which one was too scared to go or whatever in the actual game. X-x I haven't played HM64 in a while...Let's just say it's Stu,alright?^^;;; ))
After a brief conversation of quiet murmuring with the two young boys,Barley smiles warmly and takes Stu's hand,helping him up into the balloon.When the two are ready,the mayor snips the ropes holding them down with a pair of large scissors,and soon they are floating up into the sky.In a couple of minutes they are just a tiny speck off in the distance. A few people cheer,and the mayor clears his throat once again.
"Now then,everyone,please go and get your balloons from Lillia!" He says,letting his 'sophisticated' exterior drop for a moment and smiling merrily up at his largish audience.People immediately begin to line up in front of the wooden stand,and Rose is about to follow suit when she feels someone tugging at her elbow.She whirls around to meet Karen's sparkling green gaze.
"Hey!" Karen says cheerfully,and Rose grins at her,giving a similar greeting then pausing a moment to take a look at her.
She really does look a quite a bit more formal than yesterday.Her tawny brown hair is tied (With lavender scrunchies) into two loose braids,and Rose notes that the outfit she is wearing,while not a dress,is rather nice looking all the same. A very pale blue top,slightly frilled around the edges,and a long,white skirt (with gold and silver speckles splattered here and there) as well as a few pretty bracelets on each arm,and a translucent gold scarf around her neck.
Karen smirks and nudges her, "If you think this is bad,you shoulda seen what my mom WANTED me to wear..." She does a mock shudder.
Rose laughs and smirks as well,eyebrows raised. "Whatever you say,Miss Karen."
Karen sticks her toungue out at Rose and they both giggle quietly,lining up to get their balloons.
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Rose looks around the square.About an hour had past since the festival had began,and several things had already taken place.After the balloons had been released,it had been time for lunch,so they had all sat down as Lillia and Elli served the food on the wheeled tables. Rose had tried the mashed potatoes (made by the Mayor's wife,Anna), the turnip stew (Made by the local midwife),the vegetable omelet (Made by Lillia and Doug) and many of the salads,all of which had been very tasty.After the food there had been dancing,and one of the young men in town,named Rick,had asked Rose to dance with him.He was a nice guy,and he wasn't unattractive,either,but there just weren't any 'sparks',as her mother would say,so it really wasn't very romantic for either of them when they danced.Rose had been surprised at how well Karen had danced,but she never had a chance,because as soon as the music stopped Karen had taken up bickering with her mother over dance styles,and,eventually,everything else they disagreed on.
Now Rose strolls about the square,looking for something interesting to do.She considers just giving it up and heading home,and is about to do so,when a voice calls out to her:
"Rose!Over here!!"
Rose turns to see Lillia and Popuri waving to her behind a small stand on the other side of the square,much like the one they had used for the balloons. It looks as though they're selling something different now,and as rose squints,she is able to make out the small,familiar shape of a seed satchel. Surprised and curious,she jogs over to them.
"Yeah?" She says,untangling a strand of hair that had gotten caught in her necklace while she was running.
"Rose,mama has some special seeds to sell you!" Popuri says,grinning at her.
Rose looks down at the satchels. They are different colors than the usual ones,acually.One is a deep,dark forest green color,another navy blue,and the last one is swamp green with grass green polk-a-dots.Rose blinks at them,and picks up the first one.
"That one is for cucumber seeds." Says Lillia,smiling. "320 gold a bag,each cucumber plant sells for 80 gold,and the plant grows new cucumbers every few days after the first harvest.The second one is for okra,a plant used for making tea.It's going for 380 a bag,and sells for 90 gold each.One crop grows many harvests of okra,just like the cucumbers." She then points to the third one,the one with spots. "And those are for peas.280 gold a bag,each pod sells for 60 gold.Also repetitive harvest,like the other two." The two pink haired ladies smile encouragingly at their customer. "Now then,would you like to buy anything?"
Rose nods vigorously,eyes widening as she sloppily and very quickly calculates the gold she could make by the end of spring in her head. She purchases 2 bags of cucumber,2 bags of okra and 3 bags of peas,then leaves the festival with a large grin on her face and over half of her money gone.
Oh well!
~ Continued in Chapter 5 ~
Author's Inane Speech of Yay: OMFG I GO HOME TOMMOROW YAY!!!T_T AHAHAHA...But I start skool in a week =_= A WEEK,I SAY!Eeeeevil...Erf,anyway,I'll try to get to chapter five before ZE EVIL BUILDING YEAR BEGINS ONCE AGAIN ;.; And I'll definatly try to keep updateing this fic even after I ish held captive.Byebye now!u.u
~Pheep